Senator Blackburn Meets With 101st Active Duty Airborne Soldiers in Normandy, France, on 80th Anniversary of D-Day
Senator Blackburn Sends Off Tennessee National Guard Troops Being Deployed to the U.S. Southern Border
Senator Blackburn Joins Country Music Star Craig Morgan as He Announces His Return to the U.S. Army Reserve
Senator Blackburn Welcomes Middle Tennessee Honor Flight With Korean & Vietnam Veterans to Washington, D.C.
America shines as a beacon of freedom in a dangerous world because of the sacrifices our active-duty service members and veterans have made to preserve our freedom. Regardless of whether battles of the future are fought on land, air, sea, space, or cyberspace, our men and women in uniform need to be armed with the most advanced technology and best weaponry to defend our nation. When their service comes to an end, we must ensure that no veteran is left behind and all veterans receive the benefits and timely access to quality care that they deserve.
As a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Senator Blackburn has worked to honor the sacrifices that veterans and their families made through their service to the country. Tennessee is home to more than 400,000 veterans who have bravely served.
Senator Blackburn introduced the Recognizing Community Organizations for Veteran Engagement and Recovery (RECOVER) Act to expand access to mental health care by strengthening partnerships between the VA and community-based organizations. She introduced the Women Veterans Specialty Care Access Act to improve access to care like gynecology, obstetrics, maternity, and postpartum care for female veterans. Her Veterans’ Bill of Rights Act would ensure veterans are informed of the rights they have under current law across all VA facilities and programs.
After reports emerged that the Biden administration was prioritizing medical care and benefits for illegal aliens over veterans, Senator Blackburn pressed Biden’s Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough for answers and introduced legislation that would block VA resources from being used to provide taxpayer-funded health care to illegal aliens. Additionally, after learning that the VA issued nearly $11 million in unjustified bonuses to senior executives within the department, Senator Blackburn led a letter calling for the immediate dismissal of the responsible officials for this egregious mishandling of taxpayer dollars.
Senator Blackburn has also introduced the Veterans Health Care Freedom Act to make medical care more accessible for veterans who too often face very long wait times to access basic services. This bill would remove the VA from the community care referral process, allowing veterans to receive health care in their communities from a provider of their choice. In 2021, Senator Blackburn’s bipartisan bill to improve the VA caregiver program was signed into law by President Trump. The TEAM Veteran Caregivers Act strengthens transparency and communication and formally recognizes caregivers of veterans by identifying any caregiver in the electronic health record of the veteran.
Senator Blackburn also led a bipartisan effort to address the challenges female veterans face when seeking mammogram services by expanding access to mobile mammography units, improving advanced mammography equipment, and enhancing outreach services to better publicize mammography services.
In the cybersecurity space, Senator Blackburn has worked to protect veterans from scams and malicious attacks. In 2022, her bipartisan Strengthening VA Cybersecurity Act was signed into law. This legislation protects veterans’ personal information, many of whom are seniors, from being leaked and targeted for scams by requiring the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to obtain an independent cybersecurity assessment of VA information systems and submit to Congress a plan to address the cybersecurity weaknesses found in the assessment.
Tennessee is home to several military facilities, including Fort Campbell and Arnold Air Force Base. Senator Blackburn is committed to ensuring service members have the resources they need to carry out their mission and defend our nation. She secured multiple provisions for Tennessee in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, including Fort Campbell modernization projects, Army National Guard projects, research and development funding, support for Oak Ridge, and other critical wins. The FY26 NDAA returned the U.S. Department of War to its core warfighting mission, eliminated wokeness in the military, improved quality of life for service members, expanded President Trump’s military recruitment surge, and strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.
To learn more about Senator Blackburn’s work on the FY2026 NDAA, click here.
To learn more about Senator Blackburn’s work on the FY2025 NDAA, click here.
To learn more about Senator Blackburn’s work on the FY2024 NDAA, click here.
To learn more about Senator Blackburn’s work on the FY2023 NDAA, click here.
To learn more about Senator Blackburn’s work on the FY2022 NDAA, click here.
To learn more about Senator Blackburn’s work on the FY2021 NDAA, click here.
To learn more about Senator Blackburn’s work on the FY2020 NDAA, click here.
Marsha Blackburn: Thank You, Veterans
